


don't stop believin'

by merrymegtargaryen



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-02-02 20:01:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12733326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merrymegtargaryen/pseuds/merrymegtargaryen
Summary: “It’s about us,” he said suddenly.She sat up to look at him. “What?”“I mean, you’re a city girl, I’m a small town boy,” he said, totally unperturbed. “And holy shit, there was singing in a smoky room with the smell of wine and cheap perfume!”“You are so lame,” she groaned.





	don't stop believin'

Steve wasn’t sure what he hated more: Nancy feeling sorry enough for him that she was trying to set him up with another girl, or all of the girls that Nancy deemed worthy of replacing her. It wasn’t that anything was wrong with the girls specifically--they were all very nice, very pretty, and very smart, and under any other circumstances, Steve would be perfectly charmed by them. It was just that he wanted to meet a girl...organically. Not because his ex-girlfriend felt sorry for him and was throwing every available female his way.

Thankfully, there were only so many girls in Hawkins, and it didn’t take long before Steve had gone out with almost everyone Nancy tried to throw his way. He was relieved--now he could finish out his senior year without sucking it up through another awkward dinner and movie. 

...or so he thought.

Graduation was only a month away when he agreed to give Dustin a ride to Hopper’s cabin so that he could visit El. A couple of the other kids were there, as well as a girl Steve had never seen before. She was pretty, in a terrifying sort of way. Her black hair was edged in purple, and part of her head was shaved. Her eyes were dark, rimmed in thick, smudged eyeliner, and her clothes were definitely  _ not _ from Hawkins. She looked like she was in a punk rock music video on MTV. 

“She’s my sister,” El announced. “Kali.” She pointed to Steve. “That’s Steve. Our babysitter.”

“I’m not...really her babysitter,” Steve said. “Just. Theirs.” He pointed to the boys.

Kali didn’t look impressed. 

“So...sister, huh?” Steve said, feeling rather out of place.

“It’s a long story,” Kali said. Her accent was...well, he couldn’t really place it. English? Maybe? Definitely not American. That only deepened the mystery. 

Steve bobbed his head. “Cool. Cool, cool, cool.” 

He didn’t stay for much longer--Jonathan would be swinging by later and giving all the boys a ride home, and Steve had the distinct feeling that Kali didn’t...approve of him? Somehow? So he drove home, wondering how these two girls could be sisters.

.

He didn’t think much more of Kali until a few days later, when Nancy came up to him at school with That Look.

“No,” he said sharply. “I am not going on another date, Nancy.”

“It’s not a date!” she insisted. “I just wanted to invite you out to a...small gathering.”

“A small gathering?” he repeated skeptically. 

“Mike said you met El’s sister, Kali,” Nancy said. “She’s our age, and she lives in a city...Hopper’s cabin in the middle of nowhere can’t be much fun for her, even if El is there. I was thinking, maybe we could take her out this weekend? Show her there’s life in Hawkins?”

Steve knew that that was not actually Nancy’s intent, and that she was actually just trying to set him up on a date with one of the only girls in Hawkins he hadn’t yet gone on a date with--even if she was only visiting. But he couldn’t very well say no, or else he’d sound like an asshole. And he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little intrigued by the idea of going out in any capacity with Kali. He seriously doubted they’d be at all compatible, but seeing her out and about would definitely be  _ interesting _ . 

“What were you thinking of?” he asked, changing out the books in his locker. 

She beamed. “Dale’s is having karaoke night on Friday.”

“And you think Eleven’s sister--who, by the way, looks like she could kick Alice Cooper’s ass--wants to go to karaoke?”

“It’ll be fun!” Nancy said insistently. 

He sighed. “Sure.”

Nancy squealed. “Great! We’ll meet you at Dale’s at, say, seven?”

“Seven at Dale’s,” he confirmed, wondering if this was going to be a mistake.

.

On Friday night, Steve took extra pains with his appearance, trying very hard to look as if he wasn’t trying hard. He rolled up to Dale’s, along with what looked like half of Hawkins High and Hawkins High alumni, back in town for their college summer breaks. The place was jam-packed, livelier than it was at any other time of the year. Teenagers and twenty-somethings were catching up after months apart, lighting cigarettes and ordering drinks and laughing raucously. It took a while for Steve to find his friends--they were sitting in a booth, Jonathan and Nancy on one side with Kali sitting opposite them. She looked deeply unimpressed. 

“Hi,” Steve said, already feeling that this was a mistake. 

“You made it!” Nancy said excitedly. “Kali, you remember Steve.”

“We’ve met,” was all she said. 

Steve shot Jonathan a look. Jonathan gave him a shrug and a small smile. 

“So,” Nancy said as soon as they’d ordered their food. “Kali...how do you like Hawkins so far?”

“I haven’t seen much outside the cabin,” she said. “It’s...quiet.”

“Except for this place, right?” Jonathan joked.

Kali turned her unimpressed stare towards him. “Sure.”

Jonathan and Nancy exchanged looks and immediately started sucking on their straws. Steve felt a sick sense of satisfaction--he was always awkward on double dates with Jonathan and Nancy. Now it was their turn to feel awkward. Sure, he was feeling awkward too, but that was a small price to pay. All of the girls that had made Steve feel awkward, and Nancy had finally picked one that made her feel awkward, too. 

The evening did not get any less awkward. All of Nancy’s attempts at small talk failed miserably, and when she and Jonathan got up to sign up for karaoke, Steve saw it for the escape attempt that it was. He turned to Kali. “I know you don’t like me,” he said bluntly. “But I just wanna say, from the bottom of my heart...thank you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Nancy and I used to date,” he said. “And then she left me for Jonathan. And as if that didn’t sting enough, now she’s bound and determined to find a new girlfriend for me.”

Kali’s eyebrow remained arched. “Is that why she invited me out tonight?”

“Yup,” he said. “I don’t think she realized what a hardass you are, though, and now she’s afraid of you.”

Kali surprised him by smiling. “Good--I like when people are afraid of me.”

“Oh, then you should love me, because I’m absolutely terrified of you.”

To his surprise, delight, and mild terror, Kali laughed. Well, it was more of a light chuckle, but still. He’d made her laugh.

Nancy and Jonathan were determinedly socializing with the other patrons of Dale’s--though whether that was because they were trying to give Steve and Kali alone time or because they were afraid of Kali or if it was a combination of both, Steve didn’t really know. 

“My sister’s friends can’t stop talking about you,” Kali said after their food had arrived. “How does it feel to be hero-worshipped by a bunch of little kids?”

“Feels kinda good, actually,” he said. “I don’t have any siblings, so, it’s kinda like having a bunch of little brothers and sisters.”

“Yeah,” Kali said. “Yeah, I get that.”

Steve was tempted to ask about El and how the two girls were supposedly related, but he somehow had the feeling that now was neither the time nor place. “So, where are you visiting from?” he asked lamely. 

She quirked her lips. “Chicago. I run a criminal gang.”

“Oh my god, of course you do.” His head fell against the back of the booth. “You know I’m going to the police academy in Chicago in a few months?”

Kali let out a bark of laughter. 

“Of course you are.”

“Maybe you can show me around.”

“Mm, maybe.” She sipped her Coke. “But my area of expertise is the seedy underbelly of the Windy City.”

“So, not the Sears Tower?”

Kali laughed again. Steve was feeling very pleased with himself. “Tell you what, Steve: when you get to Chicago, you let me show you the places I frequent, and I’ll do something cheesy and touristy with you. Though, you’d have to do something  _ really _ bitchin’ to drag me to Navy Pier.”

“Hey, I can do...bitchin’.”

Kali laughed again, and he knew she was laughing  _ at _ him, but...that was okay. He just liked seeing her laugh. 

Struck with inspiration, he said, “I’ll be right back.” He slid out of the booth and made his way to the DJ, where there was a line of people signing up for karaoke. Steve wrote something down and then made his way back to the table. On the way, he ran into Jonathan and Nancy, who were chatting with a couple other people from their class.

“How’s it going?” Nancy asked eagerly.

“We’ll see in a little bit,” Steve said in his most cheerful voice, and then returned to the table with Kali. 

The karaoke was...well, about what you’d expect. Lots of high school girls thinking they were rocking it, college girls who were reuniting and singing their old favorites, college boys doing an over-the-top “girly” song but secretly being really into it. Lots of high school couples unironically singing “Jack and Diane”. Jonathan and Nancy had just sat down after their own duet when the DJ called up Steve and Kali. 

Kali turned flashing eyes on Steve. “What did you do?”

“Something I may regret,” he admitted, taking her hand and pulling her out of the booth. “Come on.” He had to pull her through the crowd and up onto the small platform which served as a stage. The DJ thrust two microphones in their hands.

“What the fuck is happening?” Kali demanded of Steve.

“Just follow the words on the screen,” he said, smiling at everyone in the bar. He knew most of them--or rather, they knew him--and they were shouting encouragement. The music started and the bar dissolved into excited screams.

“ _ Just a small town girl _ ,” he began, staring down Kali. “ _ Livin’ in a lonely world. She took the midnight train goin’ anywhere. _ ”

He waited for Kali to sing the next part, but when she didn’t, dozens of girls in the bar filled in, 

_ “Just a city boy _

_ Born and raised in South Detroit _

_ He took the midnight train goin’ anywhere _ .”

Steve had had a feeling that Kali wouldn’t be as into the song as he was, so he decided to go completely over the top with his performance. He played an air guitar and did his best imitation of Journey.

“ _ A singer in a smoky room _

_ The smell of wine and cheap perfume _

_ For a smile they can share the night _

_ It goes on and on and on and on _ .”

Everyone in the bar started shout-singing with him now.

“ _ Strangers waiting _

_ Up and down the boulevard _

_ Their shadows searching _

_ In the night _

_ Streetlight people _

_ Livin’ just to find emotion _

_ Hidin’ somewhere in the night _

_ Workin’ hard to get my fill _

_ Everybody wants a thrill _

_ Payin’ anything to roll the dice _

_ Just one more time _

_ Some will win _

_ Some will lose _

_ Some were born to sing the blues _

_ Oh, the movie never ends, _

_ It goes on and on and on and on _

_ Strangers waiting _

_ Up and down the boulevard _

_ Their shadows searching _

_ In the night _

_ Streetlight people _

_ Livin’ just to find emotion _ .”

Everyone started dancing wildly to the guitar riff. Steve looked at Kali in the middle of his own energetic air guitar riff. 

“You’re going to pay for this,” she shouted.

“I know!” he shouted back. 

Kali gave him a look that clearly told him she thought he was crazy, and then raised the microphone to her lips. 

“ _ Don’t stop believin’ _

_ Hold onto that feelin’!” _

Steve beamed as he and Kali sang the last verses, along with everyone else in Dale’s. Everyone cheered when the song ended, more for themselves than for Steve and Kali, and then the DJ was calling up the next pair. Steve hopped off the stage, holding out a hand for Kali; she hopped down on her own, brushing past his proffered hand. 

“That was  _ awesome _ !” Nancy exclaimed when they slid back into the booth. 

“It was certainly something,” Kali agreed tersely.

Steve had a feeling that he was definitely going to pay for his little stunt later, but since they were in a room full of witnesses, he figured he was safe for the time being. He waited until Jonathan and Nancy were being gross again before he leaned over to Kali. “So tell me, was that worse than Navy Pier?”

Kali’s lips threatened to smile. That was good enough for Steve. 

They didn’t stay at Dale’s much longer. When it became clear that Jonathan and Nancy were going to drive somewhere quiet and screw around (and not, as Nancy kept insisting, going to “help her mom with something”), Kali asked Steve if he would drive her home. Steve knew that that had been Nancy’s intention all along--not only would she and Jonathan get to screw around, but Steve and Kali would have their own alone time. But he was actually looking forward to giving Kali a ride home, even if it meant she was probably going to kill him--he liked being around her. 

“So,” he said as he pulled out of the parking lot. “Is this the part where you make me pay?”

“Not just yet,” she said, leaning forward to fiddle with the radio. “God, doesn’t this town know how to play real music?”

“What’s your idea of real music?”

She considered him. “The Sex Pistols. The Ramones. The Clash.”

“The Clash?” Steve grinned. “You and Jonathan would’ve gotten along if you guys had started talking about music.”

“Do you know how pathetic you are?” Kali said suddenly. “You let your ex-girlfriend set you up on dates you don’t even want to be on, and now you’re complimenting her boyfriend’s taste in music? The same boyfriend, I might add, who stole her from you in the first place?”

“Jonathan didn’t  _ steal _ her from me,” Steve said. “She did have a say in it, you know.”

“I hope you broke his nose at least.” When Steve didn’t say anything, she made a guttural noise of disgust. “Pathetic.”

“What would breaking his nose solve?” he asked reasonably. He didn’t want to tell her that last time he and Jonathan had gotten in a fight, Jonathan had punched his lights out. 

“It would feel good! Don’t you ever do stupid, impulsive things because they  _ feel _ good?”

Steve thought about it. “Uh. Huh. No, I guess not.”

“Pathetic,” she said again.

“What is--”

“Pull over,” she said suddenly. 

Steve was surprised but did as she asked. 

“Park the car. Turn off the engine.”

He did. “What--”

Kali surged forward, kissing Steve with an intensity that took his breath away. She pulled back long enough for him to mutter, “Holy shit,” before she had launched herself onto the driver’s side, straddling his lap and fisting his shirt in her hands. She kissed him again, and this time, Steve had the presence of mind to kiss her back. His hands ran up her hips, her sides, her back; she shifted and the horn gave one short blast. 

“Jesus--”

“Come on.” 

Kali maneuvered off his lap and into the backseat, tugging Steve after her. 

“Is this you getting me back for karaoke, because I gotta say--”

“Oh my god, shut up,” Kali said before she kissed him again.

.

Later, when they lay in a cramped tangle in the backseat of Steve’s car, Kali muttered a curse. 

“That fucking song is stuck in my head.”

Steve smiled. “It’s a good song.”

She made a noise that clearly told him she disagreed.

“ _ Just a small town girl _ ,” he started. “ _ Livin’ in a lonely world _ …”

“Don’t you fucking dare.”

“ _ She took the midnight train goin’ anywhere… _ ”

“Steve.”

“ _ Just a city boy _ .”

“STEVE.”

“It’s about us,” he said suddenly.

She sat up to look at him. “ _ What _ ?”

“I mean, you’re a city girl, I’m a small town boy,” he said, totally unperturbed. “And holy shit, there was singing in a smoky room with the smell of wine and cheap perfume!”

“You are so lame,” she groaned.

He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back down to him. “ _ For a smile we can share the night, it goes on and on and on and-- _ ”

She kissed him. “Shut the fuck up.” 


End file.
